Freezing tray



DCC- 22 1942 H. D. GEYER E-r AL FREEZING TRAY 3 Sheets-Sheet l Filed Dec. 27, 1958 7/7w'v ATTORNEYS Dec. 22, 1942. H. D. GEYER ET AL FREEZ ING TRAY xfilecrnc.A 27, 193s s sheets-sheet 2 5 R O T N E V m v Dec. 22, 1942. H. D. GEYER Erm.

FREEZ ING' TRAY 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed Dec. 27, 1958 N SWMMS .BN EMM@ NT E L E mam mm vy w wml' x MMM/WM E. |1- LI- f\\\ www @XMK Qsbm NNNMN QNLN f M Patented Dec. 22, 1942 FBEEHNG EBAY Harvey Geyer and Frederick W. Sampson, Dayton. Ohio. signore to General Motors Corporation, Detroit, Mich., a corporation of Dela- Application December 27, 1938, Serial No. 247,736

`9Claims.

This invention relates to freezing trays, especially to the portable type adapted for use in household refrigerators.

An object of this invention is to provide a very simple and eilicient form of mechanically operated tray from which the frozen ice blocks may the two'ends of the longitudinally extending actuating bar and moves said actuating bar longitudinally by exerting a pull upon one portion thereof and a thrust upon the opposite portion thereof.

Another feature is the simple and eillcient force-multiplying mechanism between the hand lever and the actuating bar which permits a very.simple and economical method o f assem` bling the grid parts.

Another feature is the slot arrangement between the longitudinal main partition and the series of loosely spaced cross partitions whereby said cross partitions may be readily assembled upon said main partition by tilting them lateralf 1y from their normal position and later tilting said cross partitions back and loosely retaining them in their normal non-laterally-tilted position.

Another feature is the slot arrangement between the cross partitions and the longitudinal actuating bar whereby said actuating bar and said cross partitions may be readily assembled together and thereafter mutually retain each other in their assembled positions. This feature renders unnecessary any guide pins and slots or other similar devices at either end of theactuating bar and hence materially simplifies the structure.

Another feature is the use of a single actuating bar for moving all the cross partitions longitudinally to loosen the ice blocks by moving said actuating bar both upwardly away from ice and longitudinally relative .to the main longitudinal partition. The upward movement or raised position of the actuating bar gives it an increased leverage upon the cross partitions and thus facilitates the tilting of said cross partitions.

invention will be apparent from the followiml description, reference being had to the accom panying drawings wherein a preferred embodiment of the present invention is clearly shown. In the drawings: i Fig. I is a plan .view of the grid and pan of this invention, all the parts being in freezing position.

Fig. 2 is a vertical section on line 2--2 of Fig. 1. Fig. 3 shows the grid removed from the pan and the hand lever having been rotated about 90 degrees to partially tilt the cross walls longitudinally relative to the main longitudinal wall.

Fig. 4 is similar to Fig. 3 but shows the parts in position when the hand lever is rotated -to its maximum ice-ejecting position. l

Fig. 5 is a section on line 5--5 of Fig. 3.

Fig. 6 is a section on line 8-6 of Fig. 1 on alarger scale, but with the actuating hand lever omitted. l

Figs. 7 to 14 are detail views.

Fig. 7 is a plan view of the hand lever.

Fig. 8 is a side elevation of the hand lever.

Fig. 9 is an end view of the hand lever.

Fig. 10 is a plan view of a die cast fitting which connects the hand lever to the actuating bar.

Fig. 11 is a side elevation of the die cast fitting.

Fig. 12 is a vertical section on line i2-I2 of Fig. `1l.

Fig. 13 is a plan view of the actuating bar.

Fig. 14 is a face view of one of the cross partitions.

Similar reference characters refer to similar parts throughout the several views.

Numeral ill designates the container pan, which is preferably drawn in one piece from flat sheet aluminum or aluminum alloy and is preferably slightly ilexibie so that it may be more readily loosened from its frozen contents. A flange i i may be provided around the upper marginal edge of pan il to better its appearance and to avoid an otherwise sharp edge of metal around the top edge of the pan. A

The removable partitioning grid 20 comprises. a main longitudinal wall 2|, which preferably Ibut not necessarily lies centrally located in pan I0, and a series of longitudinally spaced cross walls 22 loosely mounted thereupon to divide the pan contents intol smaller ice-block compart ments. 'Ihe main wall 2| has a series of open slots 2l extending upwardly from its bottom ledge to loosely receive the continuous portions 24 of cross walls 22, while the cross walls 22 Further objects and advantages of the present each has an open slot 25 extending down from portions 26 of the main wall 2| above slots 23. Preferably the slots 23 are' shaped with an inclined rear edge 21 (as shown in the drawings) and a quite narrow mouth so that when cross walls 22 are swung back against the inclined edge 21 the lower edge of each cross wall 22 will abut the bottommost forward edge 28 of its slot 23 (see Fig. 2). Thus the rearward tilting of each cross wall 22 in its slot 23 is :positively limited by the inclined edge 21 and abutment 23. This feature is of importance as will be later seen.

The open slots 25 in cross walls 22 are preferably shaped as clearly shown in Fig. 14. To assemble the main and cross walls together the main wall 2| may be first inclined relative to the cross walls 22 and passed thru the opening 30 in each cross wall, after which said main wall is moved to its vertical position shown in Fig. 5 where the small laterally projecting tongue 3| on each cross wall overlies said main wall 2| and same time may be readily assembled with the parts described above in a very simple and economical manner, as will now be described. 'I'he so prevents each cross wall from dropping due to gravity from its position shown in Fig. 5.

Each cross wall 22 also is cut away to provide a large central notch 35 therein and two opposed marginal tongues 36 and 31 partially overlying central notch 35. The longitudinally extending actuating bar 40 has a series of pairs of notches 4| cut therein, so that said actuating bar 40 may first be tilted laterally and inserted past the tongues 38 and 31 into the notches 35 in cross walls 22, after which the bar 40 may be then turned to its nal horizontal position as clearly shown in the drawings (see especially Figs. 1 and 5). When actuating bar 40 is in this assembled position on cross walls 22, the tongues 36 and 31 on the cross walls overlie ba'r 4&5 and so prevent the direct upward withdrawal of bar 40 fromnotches 35. At the same time the bar 40, when retained in place by the hand lever mechanism described hereinafter, will prevent any such lateral shifting or tilting of cross walls 22 relative to the main wall 2| as will permit main wall 2| to again slide out of the assembling opening 30. In other words, the bar 40 by bearing laterally against the sides of notches 35 loosely retains cross walls 22 in their proper assembled position upon the main wall 2|. It is to be understood that suillcient clearances are provided in all the notches and slots so far described as to provide a quite loose lit between the main wall 2l, the cross walls 22, and the actuating bar 40, so that when the bar 40 is moved longitudinally relative to main wall 2| the cross walls 22 will be readily tilted forward (or to the left as seen in Figs. 1 to 4) by the engagement therewith of notches 4| in bar 40. Preferably but not necessarily the A notches 4| have progressively greater longitudinal widths from the left end to the right end of bar 4|! (as seen in Figs. 3 and 13) so that the full actuating force of bar 40 is rst applied to the leftmost cross wall 22, then applied successively to the other cross walls 22 toward the right to tilt them toward the left one after the other.. This progressive action in releasing the ice blocks reduces the force necessary to be applied to move the actuating bar 40.

Any suitable presently known force-multiplying mechanism may be used to move the actuating bar 40 longitudinally of the main wall 2| to tilt the cross walls 22 as above described. However the hand-lever mechanism illustrated in the drawings is preferred since it is especially simple in structure and highly etlicient in operation, and at the die-cast hand lever 50 has a slot 5| therein which nts snugly over the opstanding projection 52 on the main wall 2| 'and is pivoted thereto by means of pivot pin 53kwhose two ends lie ilush with the side surfaces of hand lever 50 (see Fig. 5). Hand lever has cast integral therewith two laterally projecting journals 55 which serve as eccentric or crank pins for giving the actuating bar 40 a lifting and longitudinal movement relative to main wall 2|. 'I'hese two eccentric journals 55 fit into two aligned bearing notches 56 in the die cast tting 50 which is rigidly :fixed to actuating bar 45 byV any suitable mea Hence when hand lever 50 is rotated from its freezing position shown in Figs. l and 2 to its maximum electing position shown in Fig. 4, the eccentric journals 55 will move in an arc about the stationary pivot pin 53 `as a center and consequently move the central portion of actuating bar 40 in a corresponding arc.

An important feature of the hand lever' and its associated mechanism is the simple method of assembling these parts to the grid after the assembling together of main wall 2|, cross walls 22, and actuating bar 40 as above described. The main body of the die-cast fitting 60 overlies bar 4l but it has a portion 5| which snugly nts down into a quite wide central opening 62 (see Figs. 6 and 13) in bar 43. Fitting 55 is rigidly fixed to bar 40 by an underlying lug 53 at its rear end which may be inserted in place by a slight tilting of ttng 50, and a downwardly extending projection 54 at its forward end which may be inserted downwardly thru hole in bar 40 and then staked over on the under side thereof, as shown at 55 in Fig. 6.

Now in order to assemble all the grid parts together, the procedure may be as follows: the main wall 2| the cross walls 22 and the actuating bar 4I are ilrst loosely assembled together as described above. Next the slot 5| in hand lever 55 is passed over the projection 52 on main wall 2| and the pivot pin 53 is inserted with its ends lying flush with the straight sides of lever 50.

Next the iltting 55 is passed downwardly over the to permit fitting 53 to lie flat upon bar 40 in its ilnal position. 'I'he iinal operation which retains all the assembled parts together and prevents accidental disassembling thereof is the simple staking over of the projection 54 on the under side of bar 40 as shown at 56 in Fig. 6. When thus assembled, the snug lit of slot 5| in handle 50 over the ilat projection 52 on main wall 2| permits hand lever 50 to swing only in a longitudinal plane, and consequently the two opposed journals 55 on hand lever-55 will likewise limit the actuating bar 40'either to vertical tilting or to bodily movement in a vertical longitudinal plane since fitting 50 is ilxed to bar 40. Obviously bar 40 cannot be thereafter tilted laterally suillciently to permit its removal from the notches 35 in cross walls 22 even though bar 4|!l be previasomar nais Il are cut away at Il to permit pin Il to be fullylcylindrical. The cut away portions l1 of journals il permits the lateral insertion of the round pin l! into its bearing hole in lever Il. VIf pin I3 Ihas a sufficiently loose fit in its hole as to permit it to move endwise therein it may accidentally be moved endwise so as to partially project into notch it 'in fitting ll in one position thereof, and thus cause liamxning of the mechanism. In order' to prevent this, two small lateral inwardly projecting ears 42 are provided on bar 40 opposite the notches 5I in fitting il to retain pivot pin 53 against such accidental endwise movement when said notches 58 are in aligned position with pin li. r

The operation of thev tray and gridy is as follows: The grid is set loosely in pan III with the lever 50 and all other parts in position as shown in Figs. 1 and 2. In this position the upper portions of the cross walls 22 willbe tilted back by the forward edges of Anotches 4| in bar ll until suchbackward tilting is limited by the rear surface of-said cross walls 22 abutting the inclined edge 21 of slots 23 and the bottom'forward surface of walls 22 abutting the abutments 2l on main wall 2|. Thus all the cross walls 22 will be positively tilted backward and retained at the same angle when in freezing position, and at the same time all the cross walls will be held against the forward edges of notches 4| in bar lt, as clearly shown in Fig. 2. The pan Il) may be filled with waterto the desired level, Veither before or after grid 2li is inserted therein, and inserted into a freezing chamber until the ice 'is hard frozen with the grid parts still in their positionsshown in Fig. 2. A

To remove the frozen ice blocks. the tray is removed from the freezing chamber and the hand lever 50 rotated upwardly, as shown in Figs. 3 and 4. to force.the actuating bar 40 rst upwardly and toward the left, according to the arcuate movementof journals 55 about pin 63 as a center. The left-most cross wall 22 will be tilted forward against .the two ice blocks at the left end of pan Ill (as seen in Figs. l to 4) by the engagement ofnotch 4| in bar 40 and cause these two blocks to loosen from the grid walls 2| and 22 and be forced upwardly along the inclined end wall |2 of pan I0, where they may be then picked up with the fingers.

If desired, the two rear edges of each pair of notches 4| in bar l0 may bestaggered slightly so that the upper portion of one half of each cross wall 22 will be tilted forward by bar 40 slightly before the other half thereof, this being permitted by a slight flexing of the slightly flexible cross walls 22. 'I'hls successive tilting of the two opposite halves of each cross wall greatly facilitates ther operation since almost the entire force of bar 1|) is applied to a single ice block at one time. The small neck of ice in the unfilled portion of slot 23 will be crushed and forced out laterally, which action will vaid somewhat in loosening the two ice blocks from the main or center wall 2 I.

Next the second cross wall 22 is engaged by the second slot 4| in bar It and similarly tilted forward to release its two ice blocks in a similar manner, and so on until all the cross walls 22 have been successively tilted forward by being engaged with the rear edges of the progressively wider notches 4| in bar It. In order for this action to be uniformly successive it is clear that all the cross walls'should be retained adjacent the forward edges of the actuating notches 4| during freezing. After each cross wall is loosened from the ice by pivoting about its bottommost .edge, it is then quite loosely retained relative to the main wall 2| by the abutment 28 and hence is readily moved out of the way and does not prevent the electing movement of the next two ice blocks immediately therebehind.

In order to insure the loosening of the last two ice blocks from main wall 2| by the tilting forward of the last cross wall 22, the last notch 23' in main wall 2| is shaped differently from the other notches 23 so that the last cross wall 22 will pivot about an abutment 28 located mate` rially above its bottommost edge (see Fig. 4). Hence when said last cross wall 22 is tilted forward by bar Il about the raised pivot abutment 2l', its lower portion 22' will kick back or be forced to move rearwardly against the last two ice blocks and so loosen them frommain wall 2 I.

In Fig. 3 the lever 50 has been moved only about degrees, but all the cross walls 22 have been tilted forward to some extent since even the last cross wall is shown tilted a very small angle from its freezing position. The further movement of hand lever 50 to its maximum ejecting position of Fig. 4 permits a wide angle swinging of all the cross walls to almost a Vertical position in order to increase the tendency for allI the loosened ice blocks to drop from the grid by gravity by merely vertically shaking the grid. Such vertical shaking of the grid can be very readily ,done by the one hand which grasps the hand lever 50 since said lever 50 is centrally located approximately above the center of gravity of the grid. This is a very advantageous feature of this invention.

If desired, a small downward projection 69 may be provided on the projection 64 on fitting 60 (see Fig. 4) whichA will serve as a positive stop by contacting the upper edge of main wall 2| when lever 5l is swung to its maximum ejecting position. Thus the actuating bar I0 is at al1 times positively spaced above the top edge of main wall 2|.

- In Figs. 1 and 2 there is shown a small slightly flexible curved sheet metal handle 10 which is pivoted to pan i0 by means of pivot pin 1| whichis journaled in a small pressed metal channel bracket 12 which may be spot welded' to' the end wall of pan Il). When handle 'ill is in its raised position as shown in Fig. 2, its lower cam portion. will rest loosely upon the support for the pan I0. Hence by pressing down upon vthe top of handle 'I0 the curved cam portion 15 thereof will ride upon the support upon which pan Il rests and thus force this end of the pan up from its support. This is a' very simple and efiicient means for looseningthe pan Ill from its frozen bond to its support.

Preferably all the ice' contacting surfaces of both pan Il and the grid 2|) are of anodized aluminum and impregnated or coated with a strongly adhering high-meltlng-point wax or other water-shedding material. the strength of the frozen bond of the ice to the contacting metal su'rfaces and hence greatly facilitate the above described operation.

While the embodiment o f the present invention This will greatly reduce asherein disclosed constitutes a preferred form, it is to be understood that other forms might be adopted, all coming within the scope of the claims which follow.

What is claimed is as follows:

1. In a freezing device, a container pan. and a partitioning grid for said pan, said grid comprising: a main longitudinal wall, a series of cross walls cooperating with said main longitudinal wall to form ice block compartments and being movable relative to said main longitudinal wall, an actuating bar mechanically associated with said cross walls so as to move said cross walls longitudinally relative to said main wall, and a hand lever pivotally mounted upon said main wall adjacent the longitudinal center of said actuating bar and reacting between said main wall and actuating bar to cause relative longitudinal movement therebetween by exerting .a pull upon approximately one-half of said bar and a thrust upon the other half thereof.

2. In a freezing device, a container pan and a partitioning grid for said pan, said grid comprising: a main longitudinal wall, a series of cross walls cooperating with said main longitudinal wall to form i-ce block compartments and being movable relative to said main longitudinal wall, an actuating bar overlying said main wall, and a force-multiplying means located intermediate the end portions of said bar and reacting between said bar and main wall to cause relative longitudinal movement therebetween by exerting a pull upon one portion of said bar and a thrust upon the other portion thereof, said actuating bar being mechanically associated with said cross walls so as to move said cross walls relative to said main wall.

3. In a freezing device, a container pan and a partitioning grid for said pan, said grid comprising: a main longitudinal wall, a. series of cross walls cooperating with said main longitudinal wall to form ice block compartments and being movable relative to said mainlongitudinal wall, said cross walls having aligned open notches extending' thru the upper edges thereof, an actuating bar having por-tions lying Within said open notches and engagingthe lateral margins thereof so-as to move said cross walls longitudinally upon the longitudinal movement of said bar, said open notches being of such depth as to permit substantial vertical displacement of said bar therein, and force-multiplying means for moving said bar both vertically and longitudinally relative to said main wall, whereby to facilitate the removal of the frozen ice blocks.

A4.l In a freezing device, a container pan and a partitioning grid for said pan, said grid comprising: a main longitudinal wall, a series of cross walls cooperating with said main longitudinal wall to form ice block compartments and being movable relative to said main longitudinal wall, said cross walls having aligned openings adjacent their upper edges, an actuating bar having portions lying within said aligned openings and engaging at least two margins of each of said openings so as to move said cross walls longitudinally upon the longitudinal movement of said bar, said aligned openings being of such depth as to permit substantial vertical displacement of said bar relative to said cross walls, and forcemultiplying means for moving said bar vertically and longitudinally whereby said cross walls are moved longitudinally tp facilitate the removal of the frozen ice blocks.

5. In a freezing device, a container pan and a partitioning grid for said pan, said grid comprising: a main longitudinal wall, a series of cross walls cooperating with said main longitudinal wall to form ice block compartments and being movable relative to said main longitudinal wall, said cross walls having aligned openings adjacent their upper edges, an actuating bar having portions lying within said aligned openings and engaging at least two margins of each of said openings so as to move said cross walls longitudinally upon the longitudinal movement of said bar, said aligned openings being of such depthA as to permit substantial vertical displacement of said bar relative to said cross walls, and a crank mechanism reacting between said bar and main wall for moving said bar .both vertically and longitudinally relative to said main wall to facilitate the removal of the frozen ice blocks.

6. In a freezing device, a container pan and a partitioning grid for said pan, said grid comprising: a main longitudinal wall, a series of cross walls cooperating with said main longitudinal wall to form ice block compartments and being movable relative to said main longitudinal wall. said cross walls having aligned openings adjacent their upper edges, an actuating bar having `portions lying within said aligned openings and engaging at least two margins of each of said openings so as to move said cross walls longitudinally upon the longitudinal -movement of said bar, said aligned openings being of such depth as to permit substantial vertical displacement of said bar relative to said cross walls, and a crank mechanism for bodily lifting said bar upwardly away from the ice contents and moving said bar longitudinally whereby said cross walls are moved longitudinally to facilitate the removal of the.

frozen ice blocks.

.7. In a freezing device, a container pan and a partitioning grid for said pan, said grid comprising: a main longitudinal wall, a series of cross walls cooperating with said main longitudinal wall to form ice block compartments and being movable relative to said main longitudinal wall, said cross walls having aligned openings adjacent their upper edges, an actuating bar having portions lying within said aligned openings and engaging at least two margins of each of said openings so as to move said cross walls longitudinally upon the longitudinal movement of said bar, said aligned openings being of such depth as to permit substantial vertical displacement of said bar relative to said cross walls, and

force-multiplying means located intermediate being movable relative to said main longitudinal wall, said cross walls having aligned open notches extending thru the upper edges thereof, an actuating bar having portions lying within said open notches and engaging the lateral margins thereof so as to move said cross walls longitu-` dinally upon the longitudinal movement of said bar, said open notches being of such depth as to permit substantial vertical displacement of said bar therein, and crank mechanism for vertically displacing said bar within said notches and movlng said bar longitudinally relative to said main wall, whereby to facilitate the removal of the frozen ice blocks.

9. In a freezing device, a container pan and a partitioning grid for said pan, said grid comprising: a. main longitudinal wall, a series of cross walls cooperating with said main longitudinal wall to form ice block compartments and being `movable relative to said main longitudinal wall, said main wall having slots extending upward from its bottom edge to loosely receive said cross walls, said cross walls having laterally inclined permanently open slots extending down- Ward from their top edges to loosely receive said main Wall and permit ready assembling together of said main wall and cross walls by laterally inclining said main wall, said cross walls having laterally extending shoulders adjacent said inclined slots which shoulders overlie said main wall when in finally assembled position and thereby to loosely retain said cross walls against dropping away from said main wall due to gravl0 ity. 

